Flukes and Fireworks
by Libbs
Summary: The real problem, he decided, was that he had already built it up too much in his mind.


The real problem, he decided, was that he had already built it up too much in his mind.

Not that he could really be blamed for it. Oh, no. Facts were, Temperance Brennan was a beautiful woman, and had this uncanny ability to surprise him, irritate him, and turn him on all at once. It would have been odd had he _not_ taken an interest.

But he could certainly be blamed for letting it go on as long as he had. Sure, there had been obstacles. Their jobs, respective lovers, and so on. But there had been a few times-after Cam but before Sully, after Kenton had kidnapped her...even before that when he dropped everything to help her in New Orleans-that he had known that he could have made a move, and she probably would have responded. But he hadn't. And that was where he was to blame.

Because waiting three years for a first kiss had to be some kind of record, really, and the worst bit about it was that he hadn't waited due to any notions of chivalry, honor, or respect, which is what he knew everyone else thought. He had never made a move because he was a coward. He'd convinced himself that kissing Bones; making that move that might lead them into a romantic relationship, would chance his life irrevocably, and he had never been really ready for it. And to be honest, he'd kind of liked the suspense. The waiting for it to happen; only coming so close before pulling away again. Flirting with the invisible line that he'd been sure to draw between them almost from the first, seeing just how far he could go before something gave.

And there was the problem. Because with all of this contemplation, he had begun to believe that when he finally did kiss her, there would be explosions and fireworks and possibly bells ringing off in the distance. So when they'd literally been shoved together under the mistletoe, he'd closed his eyes, opened his mouth and prepared for the explosion.

Bones' lips had pressed against his, and he had felt...nothing. Well, not nothing. He _had_ felt vaguely uncomfortable that Caroline was standing less than three feet away, probably smirking and waiting for the fireworks that seemed to have no intention of going off. Then had come the disappointment. He'd really thought that it would be better than this, thought that it would feel less like, well, like kissing his sister. She'd seemed to feel the same way, because she'd made a tiny, disappointed noise against his mouth and kissed him harder, grabbing the lapels of his suit and dragging him closer as she did so. Still, there was a whole lot of nothing, and so they'd pulled back, defeated, both of them studiously avoiding meeting anyone's eyes.

Caroline had opened her mouth to say something-probably to demand where the hell the sparks had gone-but she had been interrupted by the shrill of his phone. It had been Rebecca, letting him know that Parker was ready to be picked up, and he had never been so grateful to get out of a room in his life. He'd left with barely a nod to his partner, still unable to look at her and dreading the havoc that lackluster kiss would no doubt wreak on their partnership.

That had been four hours ago, and with Parker safely tucked into bed to await Santa's presents, he was left to brood, and come to the conclusion that maybe the crap kiss had been a fluke, brought on by wanting something so much for so long that the reality was bound to disappoint. That, and possibly a little rebellion in the face of Caroline's extreme pushiness. Yes. That had to be it, because God knew he'd been in love with the woman for what seemed like forever, and his physical response to her had never been so platonic before.

It was completely his fault, for letting it build up so long, and next time-and there would be a next time, for Seeley Booth was nothing if not persistent-he would not let what he expected to happen get in the way of what actually was. And next time, he would make sure that it didn't happen in front of witnesses, so that on the small chance that this kiss _hadn't _been a fluke, neither of them would have to go through the same embarrassment that they had gone through tonight.

Mind made up, he began the process of getting to bed; setting out all of Parker's presents and having the milk and cookies his son had sent out for his expected nighttime visitor, then methodically moving around the place, making sure that the windows and doors were all shut and locked tight before heading towards his room. He had just slid into bed when the knock came. Noting that it was very late-nearly one in the morning, he gave an inward sigh and made for the door, thinking while checking through the peephole that whoever was on the other side better have a good excuse.

To say that he was shocked upon seeing Bones would be an understatement. He pulled open the door and ushered her inside, worried. "Bones, what-"

Before he could finish, his partner had grabbed a hold of his shoulders and tugged him forward, crashing their mouths together.

If their first kiss had been platonic, this one was anything but. Her mouth was hot and open against his, and before he really realized what he was doing he had buried his hands in her hair and opened his own mouth to allow his tongue to tangle with hers, while her hands clutched at his shoulders and she pushed against him impatiently and fireworks were an understatement as distantly, he heard the sound of not a bell, but a fucking _gong_ signaling that this, this right here, this was _it._ and he would be an idiot to ever let it go. Let her go. Which was something he had no intention of doing.

Later, when they had finally come up for air and he had gotten around to asking her to stay; when Parker woke them both up (him on the couch and her in his bed-he wasn't about to sleep with her when his young, impressionable son could walk in the room at any time) and opened his presents and demanded blueberry pancakes; after Rebecca had picked the excited boy up and gave the both of them an all-too knowing look, they had come to the mutual agreement that the less-than-exciting kiss had been brought on by their own hesitancy. Waiting, it turned out, was highly overrated.

Barring that, they could always blame Caroline.


End file.
